18 Months with Baby E

Wow...where did my baby go? I ask myself that question more than I probably should. Everyone says the time goes quick, but you never really realize how quick until it is your child growing up.

Um...I am learning here

Baby E really isn't a baby anymore, but a smart, funny, energetic, adorable toddler. She is a ball of emotion with distinct likes and dislikes. It is hard when something completely irrational, like a water cup not fitting in her cozy coupe cup holder, sends her into complete meltdown, but it is amazing when she runs to you asking for a hug.

Toddler life is hard

 
Climbing is E's favorite thing right now. Tables, chairs, toy boxes...anything else she can get herself onto, she is there. She has even figured out how to climb out the window of her cozy coupe. This keeps us on our toes and makes me very nervous. Luckily, she hasn't tried to climb out of her crib, yet. 

I got in...how do I get out

We also have a chatter box. The speed that E is learning words and language really blows my mind. Her vocabulary grows by the day. She mimics everything (I need to watch what I play in the car now) and is starting to put two word phrases together on her own. 

E is super smart (I know I am bias) and the things that she figures out really blow me away. She knows that Grandma lives in my phone (we Facetime a lot) knows were the GoGo Squeeze applesauce lives. She knows what doorknobs and keys do, but luckily hasn't figured out exactly how to open them yet as well as a ton of other things.

I am beginning to realize, that at least for a while, kids are always in the moment. It is amazing to see the raw emotion (joy, awe, happiness) in E's eyes when she is taking something in. She will dance whenever there is music and doesn't have a care in the world. It is a good reminder for me to say focused and in the moment with her.

At 18 months out I am doing much better than I was right after E was born and for most of that first year. Trying to balance everything is hard and some days I feel like there is not enough of me to go around, but I do the best I can and hope it is enough.

It is 2015...Time for a Reboot

Hello...yeah, it has been a while. Sorry about that. The last bit of 2014 was crazy and a bit rough for me, so blogging was not at the top of my priority list. All I can do now is catch you up on what as been going on and let you know where I am going.

When we left off in September, I had 5 races on my end of year list. I ran two. The UCF 5 miler, which was a total disaster because the course was not marked correctly, and the Run Nona at Night 5k. Neither was a great performance because I was not well trained and dealing with some minor, but annoying, illness and injury things.

I never signed up for two of the races and the Space Coast Half Marathon was a big fat DNS (more on why later). Needless to say, I am not exactly happy with my running progress in 2014.

The worst part of the fall was that both a very close family friend and my Father both passed away in November. We had just come back from a funeral in South Florida when I received the call that my Father's treatment was no longer working and he was being put into hospice. I left for WI a few days later and he passed away a few days after I arrived. His viewing and funeral were the Monday and Tuesday after Space Coast, so I obviously didn't run.

We spent almost 2 weeks in WI and got back to Orlando mid-December. The rest of the month was spent catching up on things and trying to cram some Christmas joy into the season. Opening gifts with baby E was so fun this year. (I owe you an update on her. She it turning into and amazingly awesome little girl.)

That brings us to 2015. I did a decent job with my goals for 2014, but there was room for improvement and further growth. This is what I am working on this year.

• Focus on overall fitness. 2014 was all about running and it was not uncommon for that to be all I did. While not the worst thing in the world, it has left me weaker that I would like to be. I am taking a more well rounded approach and focusing on building strength and hoping that it helps in my running.
• Really work on my dissertation. I made a good start on this in 2014, but it is a long process. After a couple months away because of my Dad's illness, it is time to get back to it.
• Blog more regularly. My goal is to get 2 posts up a month this year. It is not a lot, but creating consistency is step 1.

It is a short list, but it is some pretty big things and will help keep me accountable in 2015.